The talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and a delegation of US officials on ending the war in Ukraine were "productive", but no compromise was reached, a Russian official said on Wednesday.
Putin met US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow as part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to broker a peace deal.
Though both sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to Putin, told reporters that the five-hour conversation was useful, constructive and substantive.
"No compromises have been found as of yet. Some American proposals are acceptable to Russia, while others are not," he said.
We discussed the substance, not the specific wording and solutions. The parties see enormous potential for cooperation," Ushakov added.
The meeting came days after US officials held talks with a Ukrainian team in Florida, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described in cautiously optimistic terms.
According to reports, the peace proposal envisaged by Trump last month had granted some of the Kremlin's core demands, such as Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia and renouncing its bid to join NATO. Kyiv has rejected these proposals.
On Tuesday, Putin accused the European governments of blocking diplomatic efforts on Ukraine and asserted that Moscow is ready for a military confrontation if those nations choose escalation.
"We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now," he said.
